Navitus Bay gives the public another chance to meet the project team before Phase Four Consultation closes

Wind Park developer urges public to learn more and register their views by 11 October

Members of the public are being invited to attend another series of informal drop-in sessions to talk to the Navitus Bay team about its proposals for an offshore wind park off the Dorset and Hampshire coast, to the west of the Isle of Wight.

The three-hour drop-in sessions, which will be held in eight different locations across the region, are part of Navitus Bay’s on-going drive to give residents as many opportunities as possible to learn more about the development before the final phase of the consultation closes on 11 October.

This follows the Phase Four public exhibitions, held between 12 and 21 September, which saw nearly 1,500 people turn up to hear more about the proposed wind park. While this is a lower number than during Phase Three, when almost 2,000 people passed through the doors, there is clearly still appetite amongst local residents to learn more about Navitus Bay’s plans.

The forthcoming drop-in surgeries will give local residents who were unable to attend the recent exhibitions an opportunity to speak to the project team, pick up copies of the Phase Four community consultation materials and provide their feedback on the plans before the consultation ends.

The Phase Four consultation materials include the Preliminary Environmental Information. This is the culmination of 3 years of Environmental Impact Assessment work and sets out the potential impacts of the project and the measures which are being proposed to minimise these effects during the construction, operation and decommissioning phases.

The final day of the consultation, 11 October, is the public’s last chance to feedback on Navitus Bay’s proposal before the developer submits its planning application in early 2014 seeking permission to build the wind park.

Mike Unsworth, Project Director at Navitus Bay, said:

“Navitus Bay is committed to communicating honestly and openly with members of the public to ensure that they are given as much information as possible about the proposed wind park, which will deliver significant economic benefits to the local community.

“We have been carrying out comprehensive consultation with the community since 2010 and have just completed the final planned round of public exhibitions. But we are still listening and will continue to act on the feedback we receive while the consultation remains open.

“We would therefore encourage as many people as possible – particularly those who were unable to make it to the recent exhibitions – to come to these drop-in sessions, take this extra opportunity to look at the consultation materials and make their views known before the end of the consultation on 11 October.”

All the sessions are open to the public and will be held at the following venues:

7th October, 11am – 2pm,

Starboard Suite, Captain's Club Hotel, Wick Ferry, Wick Lane, Christchurch, BH23 1HU

7th October, 4pm – 7pm,

Hampshire Room, The New Milton Memorial Centre, Whitefield Road, New Milton BH25 6DE

8th October, 11am – 2pm,

Restaurant, The Riverside Centre, The Quay, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2QR

8th October, 4pm – 7pm,

Hope Jones Room, Lymington Community Centre, New Street, Lymington SO41 9BQ

9th October, 11am – 2pm,

Causerie Suite, Menzies Carlton Hotel, East Overcliff, Grove Road, Bournemouth, BH1 3DN

9th October, 4pm – 7pm,

St Edwards Church Hall, Rempstone Road, Swanage, BH1 1AH

10th October, 11am – 2pm,

Waterfront Suite, RNLI College, West Quay Road, Poole BH15 1HZ

10th October, 4pm – 7pm,

West Moors Memorial Hall, 231 Station Road, West Moors, Ferndown, BH22 0HZ.